What All I Read In 2020

First, I would be remiss if I didn’t take a moment to acknowledge my grandpa, the man who fostered my love for books and culture. On December 7^th, 2020, he decided it was time to be with his parents & brothers and left his physical body. Every day since has been rough, it hasn’t gotten any easier but I know he is free from pain & the limitations of his body at almost 95 years old (February 23^rd would be his 95^th birthday). He and my grandma are the reason for my love of books and why I cherish them the way that I do. My grandpa is the most amazing man and human being…I miss him every day and think about him all the time. I’m so blessed to have had almost 35 years with him, to have been loved by someone like him, to hold the honor of being his first grandchild. I hope to continue to make him proud from wherever he maybe watching. Know that seeing me carrying a book with me at all times is a reflection and in honor of him.

With that being said, I read 111 books this year (Novels, novellas and picture books), which is a high for me! I hope that I can match that this year! Here is the list of books that I read and what months I read them in! I also noted what is adult, middle grade or picture book, otherwise, it’s YA!  I would put start and finishing dates but even that would be a bit obsessive for me, lol! I would recommend any of these books! If there is a blog post about that particular book, it is hyperlinked so you can check out what my thoughts/feelings were about it! I wanted to write more reviews last year…this year, I plan to be better about that!

February

• Wicked As You Wish (ARC) by Rin Chupeco
• Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland (Sequel)
• Of Curses And Kisses (ARC) by Sandhya Menon
• A Phoenix First Must Burn Anthology (ARC) edited by Patrice Caldwell
• The Only Black Girls In Town (ARC) by Brandy Colbert (middle grade)

March

• Raybearer (ARC) by Jordan Ifueko
• Black Girl Unlimited by Echo Brown
• We Set The Dark On Fire by Tehlor Kay Meija
• We Unleash The Merciless Storm by Tehlor Kay Meija (sequel)
• Since You Asked by Maurene Goo
• Emergency Contact by Mary HK Choi

April

• Chasing Utopia: A Hybrid by Nikki Giovanni (adult)
• When You Were Everything by Ashley Woodfolk
• Kings, Queens And In-Betweens by Tanya Boteju
• Frankly In Love by David Yoon
• Ghost Squad by Claribel Ortega (middle grade)
• Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat

May

• Everything Inside by Edwidge Danticat (adult)
• Mad, Bad And Dangerous To Know by Samira Ahmed
• The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco
• Blood Heir by Amelie Wen Zhao
• The Girl King by Mimi Yu
• Spin The Dawn by Elizabeth Lim
• Wicked Fox by Kat Cho

June

• Shuri: A Black Panther Novel by Nic Stone (middle grade)
• Hunted By The Sky (ARC) by Tanaz Bhathena
• Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
• Ayiti by Roxane Gay (adult)
• Charming As A Verb (ARC) by Ben Philippe
• Nocturna by Maya Motayne
• An Untamed State by Roxane Gay (adult)
• Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
• Love At First Fight E-Novella by Sandhya Menon
• Dear Haiti, You’re Not Who They Think You Are by Martine Harris (adult)
• Anger Is A Gift by Mark Oshiro

July

• 10 Things I Hate About Pinky (ARC) by Sandhya Menon *Dimpleverse*
• Overwatch: The Hero Of Numbani (ARC) by Nicky Drayden (middle grade)
• Maya And The Rising Dark (ARC) by Rena Barron (middle grade)
• Grown (ARC) by Tiffany D. Jackson
• Miss Meteor (ARC) by Tehlor Kay Meija & Anna-Marie McLemore
• Unravel The Dusk by Elizabeth Lim (sequel)
• A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Marrow
• Star Daughter (ARC) by Shveta Thakkar
• A Song Of Wraiths And Ruin by Roseanne Brown
• The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert

August

• Ways To Make Sunshine by Renee Watson (middle grade)
• For Everyone by Jason Reynolds
• Fresh Ink: An Anthology edited by Lamar Giles
• A Thousand Beginnings and Endings Anthology edited by Ellen Oh & Elsie Chapman
• The Black Kids (ARC) by Christina Hammonds Reed
• Shine (ARC) by Jessica Jung
• Miles Morales: Spider-Man by Jason Reynolds
• Legendborn (ARC) by Tracy Deonn
• Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron
• Now That I’ve Found You by Kristina Forest
• 96 Words For Love by Rachel Ray & Ava Dash

September

• I’ll Be The One by Lyla Lee
• Parachutes by Kelly Yang
• You Should See Me In A Crown by Leah Johnson
• Wayward Witch by Zoraida Cordova (sequel)
• The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan
• What Momma Left Me by Renee Watson
• Make Up Break Up (ARC) by Lily Menon (adult)
• Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi (adult)
• Loretta Little Looks Back by Andrea Davis Pinkney
• The Way To Rio Luna by Zoraida Cordova (middle grade)
• All Of Us With Wings by Michelle Ruiz Keil
• Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore

October

• Incendiary by Zoraida Cordova
• White Fox by Sara Faring
• When The Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore
• Punching The Air by Ibi Zoboi & Yusef Salaam
• Dear Justyce by Nic Stone *Dear Justyce Universe*
• Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams (middle grade)
• Daughters of Jubilation by Kara L. Corthon
• Ikenga by Nnedi Okorafor (middle grade)

November

• Three Keys by Kelly Yang (sequel)
• A Sweet Mess (ARC) by Jayce Lee (adult)
• We Hunt The Flame by Hafsah Faizal
• Descendant of The Crane by Joan He
• Race To The Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse (middle grade)
• The Cost Of Knowing (ARC) by Brittney Morris
• Reaper Of Souls (E-ARC) by Rena Barron (sequel)
• Brown Girl Ghosted by Mintie Das
• We Free The Stars (E-ARC) by Hafsah Faizal (sequel)
• Booked For Christmas E-Novella by Lily Menon (adult)
• Stella’s Stellar Hair (E-ARC) by Yesenia Moises (picture book)
• I Want To Ride The Tap Tap (E-ARC) by Danielle Joseph (picture book)
• Home Is In Between (E-ARC) by Mitali Perkins (picture book)
• Watch Me (E-ARC) by Doyin Richards (picture book)
• I Dream Of PoPo (E-ARC) by Livia Blackburne (picture book)

December

• The Ever Cruel Kingdom by Rin Chupeco (sequel)
• Tristan Strong Destroys The World by Kwame Mbalia (sequel, middle grade)
• Rent-A-Boyfriend by Gloria Chao
• American Panda by Gloria Chao
• K-Pop Confidential by Stephan Lee
• The Perfect Escape by Suzanne Park
• Super Fake Love Song by David Yoon
• More Than Just A Pretty Face by Syed M. Masood
• Bedtime Bonnet by Nancy Redd (picture book)
• We Wait For The Sun (E-ARC) by Katie McCabe (picture Book)
• Ara, The Star Engineer by Komal Singh (picture book)
• Black Is A Rainbow Color by Angela Joy (picture book)
• I Am Perfectly Designed by Karamo Brown (picture book)

Since I know you will likely ask what my favorite reads are and of course, I will tell you! My favorites are Charming As A Verb (I have been meaning to write a blog post for this one and I promise I will because it was hands-down my favorite read of the year…not that the other books I read weren’t amazing as well!), Raybearer (there is already a hyperlink to that post in the list), Legendborn (another I have been working on a post for but just have not finished so I hope to finish it soon and post), Reaper Of Souls (of COURSE, you all will get a post for this one because it was sooooooooooo good & nerve-wrecking) and We Free The Stars (sooooooooooooooooooo good too)!

I also participated in the Free Black Women’s Library Challenge for the second year in a row! This past year, the challenge was to complete 20 books and I completed 40! I did a post with that list because I felt it deserved its own recognition (click here for that)! I’m on my 3rd book toward the challenge now!

Anyway, I hope in this new year, I will meet what I read last year, if not surpass it! How many books did you complete last year? Do you have a reading goal for this year? If so, share it in the comments! If you have any favorites from the list above, also share them in the comments! *kool-aid smile*

Happy Reading and sending Bookish love your way! Feel free to find me on Instagram @bookishgirlmagic, Twitter @bookishgrlmagic and now clubhouse @bookishgrlmagic for more bookish banter!